Milton's Paradise Lost poses the question to readers: Why does a just and good God allow evil to exist? Considering all of our readings, listening to music, and watching scenes of the afterlife, what is your answer to Milton's question?
Well, I'd assume that like everything we've been reading evil is there because it's good's other half. I ask myself this question too, if God loves us all and created everyone why would he create murderers and war and hate? My personal belief in the higher power is that evil came from good and that power needs to just let us be, needs to let us make our own choices (free will) and choose our own paths. You can't have good without evil and for me as terrible as the evil is, the good is worth it. I believe everyone has a role, positive or negative we all have a purpose. It's like the light and dark thing, you need both or you don't have either. We live in this imperfect world but it's amazing and beautiful still. I feel like we're losing the beauty because there is so much bad but I try to believe in my heart that good will always win because I see it everyday. We as a society put too much focus on the bad and we miss the little good things. I believe evil exists so good has something to stick around for, something to fight.
I believe that a just and good God allows evil to exist because then life would be too easy. There would be no point to life if everything was rainbows and unicorns. Like we have been talking about, there is always opposition wherever we are. To have good in life, we always have to have opposition of the bad in life. Ironically, no one would be happy in life unless they had gone through trials and hardships. Just like in Dante's Inferno, he had to literally go through hell to see how badly he didn't want to be there, with a later reward of Heaven. Also, I think an important part of why God put us on Earth with both good and evil is to test us and see if we can choose his righteous desires for us. This goes well with a lot of what was said within the movies, especially "Devil's Advocate", because the Devil and his words of choices and how it is up to US to decide if we want to follow Satan or God.
A just God isn't perfect and I feel can't control everything. God can't just have a perfect world there is always something that will oppose everything. God has no control over evil which is partly lucifers doing. If God did have the power to make the world perfect and not have any evil the world would already be perfect. Also humans aren't perfect so there would be no way to have a perfect world with humans. Take the bible story of the garden of eve for example. God tried to make a perfect world, but once he had man in his world it's perfectness was broken. If god wanted a perfect world it would be a world with just him.
I think that a just and good God allows evil to exist because he has no control over the evil in the world. I think that when he made good, evil was the other half that came along with it and he could not do anything about that. Good and evil are choices that every person is faced with and I believe that there are certain reasons why people decide to be evil and do evil things. In all of the movies that we watched in class, they showed the choices that people had to make and how there is usually a pretty thin line dividing good and evil. I also think that there is evil in our world so that we can work to be good and so we can see the consequences that come from our actions. If there was no evil we would not know what we were striving for or what set each of us apart from others.
When I think about this question I picture a ying yang. A little bit of light within the dark and a little bit of dark within the light. I think God made evil because he wanted to see how far people would take it. I think he was hoping for only a small amount of evil but instead he got more than he bargained for. You cannot experience love without hate and you cannot experience happiness without anger. I think it is all about the journey, not the destination. God made evil with that in mind and although some people took the evil to far others stayed as far away from it as possible.
I think that in order to understand what good is, we have to have evil to compare it to. At a certain point, the good in the world is a reaction to the bad. I kind of think of hell as an evil place and heaven as a good place, whereas earth is between the two. It is not all good and it is not all bad. We have free will to lead good or evil lives, because there is a little of both in all of us. I think a just God allows evil to exist as a test to see if we are worthy of heaven. Plus, it wouldn't matter if everything was good, because there would be nothing bad to compare it to. You don't know how good the good is until you see the bad.
I think that without evil there would be no good and without good there would be no evil. Why does there have to be one? Just like all the readings we read, either dark/evil came from light/good, or light/good came from dark/evil. I believe that God created both to see who is such a strong believer in him to be a good person. I am not saying that if you do something bad once you will be evil or bad. But I believe that he wanted to text people's faith in him. If you think about it, we are all evil in the inside, but it is the way we use the evil that makes us good or bad. Let's take money for example. Money can make a person greedy, which is seen as bad, or that person can use the money to help others than themselves. You cant have one without the other in my eyes.
God allows evil to exist because true goodness couldn’t exist without it. If all was good, there would be no choice or free will that God gives us. From the very beginning, God has permitted evil. Even in the perfect Garden of Eden, He allowed the serpent to tempt Adam and Eve. If He wanted, God is definitely powerful enough take evil out of the equation, but that would completely take away our freedom.
I believe god allows evil to exist because it creates a more defined line between good and bad .If everyone was truly good there would be no bad choices ,including murdering people and raping .In everything god has created an evil so that people can make that choice .
I think a God would allow evil to exist to show humans that life is not just a free ride and you can't do whatever you want. If there was just a heaven the world would be in chaos. And without one thing you can never truly know the other.
I think that there is evil in the world when there is a just god because we need to have a balance. With out evil who would know what good is? There neesds to be counter parts in everything in the world. There is shade and light, white and black, good and evil.
I think that a just god would have to allow unjust things to happen. Our reading has shown us that without unjust there is no just. Without evil there is no good. I think that god allows bad things to happen so that people have the chance to be good. Bad things happen to everyone but what god looks for is how you come out of a bad situation. When you make something bad into something good that is what defines you as a good person and that is ultimately what god aims for.
I think that evil was created in order to allow freedom of choice. If we are only given good as an option, what is the point in living? Evil is also the counter part of good and good cannot exist without evil (ying yang).
I believe that a all good god would allow evil to exist for many reasons. The main reason being that it exists so show an example of you should not live like. If everyone in this world was good, no body would know what evil is like. I also think that the existence of evil gives good people to stand out in this world.
I don't think that there really could be a good without an evil. I believe that God sees this clearly, and wants people to live by good so that they could live forever happiness. If there was not evil, I don't think people would be worthy to go to heaven. I've always wondered why God even allows evil, but it shows how people are not perfect and with the evil of hell it strives us to work hard to perfection.
I believe in the idea of duality when it comes to good and evil. Without light there can not be dark. Without right there can not be wrong. And without good there can not be evil. They exist mutually. However, God does not make the decision of what an individual chooses. In the two paths, the person is allowed to decide which idea they practice. God allows evil to exist because with good, there is evil, but it is not in his power to decide what an individual chooses.
I agree with all my fellow classmates. Indeed we are people of intuition. The endlessness of duality is puzzling, as is the very nature of being alive, but dualism really strikes chords in us. Our lives are as puzzling as ever and we ask questions, pray to dieties, look for metaphors, and in the end it comes down to individual experience and meaning found. I believe in free will paralleling fate, "the synchronistic nature of the universe" as Deepak Chopra calls it. Everything seems to be blatently obvious at face value (light and dark, good and evil) and yet everything is imbued with paradoxes and contradictions which play upon us in strange ways. God created and we co-create. Who knows why? I certainly do not.
Well, I'd assume that like everything we've been reading evil is there because it's good's other half. I ask myself this question too, if God loves us all and created everyone why would he create murderers and war and hate? My personal belief in the higher power is that evil came from good and that power needs to just let us be, needs to let us make our own choices (free will) and choose our own paths. You can't have good without evil and for me as terrible as the evil is, the good is worth it. I believe everyone has a role, positive or negative we all have a purpose. It's like the light and dark thing, you need both or you don't have either. We live in this imperfect world but it's amazing and beautiful still. I feel like we're losing the beauty because there is so much bad but I try to believe in my heart that good will always win because I see it everyday. We as a society put too much focus on the bad and we miss the little good things. I believe evil exists so good has something to stick around for, something to fight.
ReplyDeleteI believe that a just and good God allows evil to exist because then life would be too easy. There would be no point to life if everything was rainbows and unicorns. Like we have been talking about, there is always opposition wherever we are. To have good in life, we always have to have opposition of the bad in life. Ironically, no one would be happy in life unless they had gone through trials and hardships. Just like in Dante's Inferno, he had to literally go through hell to see how badly he didn't want to be there, with a later reward of Heaven. Also, I think an important part of why God put us on Earth with both good and evil is to test us and see if we can choose his righteous desires for us. This goes well with a lot of what was said within the movies, especially "Devil's Advocate", because the Devil and his words of choices and how it is up to US to decide if we want to follow Satan or God.
ReplyDeleteA just God isn't perfect and I feel can't control everything. God can't just have a perfect world there is always something that will oppose everything. God has no control over evil which is partly lucifers doing. If God did have the power to make the world perfect and not have any evil the world would already be perfect. Also humans aren't perfect so there would be no way to have a perfect world with humans. Take the bible story of the garden of eve for example. God tried to make a perfect world, but once he had man in his world it's perfectness was broken. If god wanted a perfect world it would be a world with just him.
ReplyDeleteI think that a just and good God allows evil to exist because he has no control over the evil in the world. I think that when he made good, evil was the other half that came along with it and he could not do anything about that. Good and evil are choices that every person is faced with and I believe that there are certain reasons why people decide to be evil and do evil things. In all of the movies that we watched in class, they showed the choices that people had to make and how there is usually a pretty thin line dividing good and evil. I also think that there is evil in our world so that we can work to be good and so we can see the consequences that come from our actions. If there was no evil we would not know what we were striving for or what set each of us apart from others.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about this question I picture a ying yang. A little bit of light within the dark and a little bit of dark within the light. I think God made evil because he wanted to see how far people would take it. I think he was hoping for only a small amount of evil but instead he got more than he bargained for. You cannot experience love without hate and you cannot experience happiness without anger. I think it is all about the journey, not the destination. God made evil with that in mind and although some people took the evil to far others stayed as far away from it as possible.
ReplyDeleteI think that in order to understand what good is, we have to have evil to compare it to. At a certain point, the good in the world is a reaction to the bad. I kind of think of hell as an evil place and heaven as a good place, whereas earth is between the two. It is not all good and it is not all bad. We have free will to lead good or evil lives, because there is a little of both in all of us. I think a just God allows evil to exist as a test to see if we are worthy of heaven. Plus, it wouldn't matter if everything was good, because there would be nothing bad to compare it to. You don't know how good the good is until you see the bad.
ReplyDeleteI think that without evil there would be no good and without good there would be no evil. Why does there have to be one? Just like all the readings we read, either dark/evil came from light/good, or light/good came from dark/evil. I believe that God created both to see who is such a strong believer in him to be a good person. I am not saying that if you do something bad once you will be evil or bad. But I believe that he wanted to text people's faith in him. If you think about it, we are all evil in the inside, but it is the way we use the evil that makes us good or bad. Let's take money for example. Money can make a person greedy, which is seen as bad, or that person can use the money to help others than themselves. You cant have one without the other in my eyes.
ReplyDeleteGod allows evil to exist because true goodness couldn’t exist without it. If all was good, there would be no choice or free will that God gives us. From the very beginning, God has permitted evil. Even in the perfect Garden of Eden, He allowed the serpent to tempt Adam and Eve. If He wanted, God is definitely powerful enough take evil out of the equation, but that would completely take away our freedom.
ReplyDeleteI believe god allows evil to exist because it creates a more defined line between good and bad .If everyone was truly good there would be no bad choices ,including murdering people and raping .In everything god has created an evil so that people can make that choice .
ReplyDeleteI think a God would allow evil to exist to show humans that life is not just a free ride and you can't do whatever you want. If there was just a heaven the world would be in chaos. And without one thing you can never truly know the other.
ReplyDeleteI think that there is evil in the world when there is a just god because we need to have a balance. With out evil who would know what good is? There neesds to be counter parts in everything in the world. There is shade and light, white and black, good and evil.
ReplyDeleteI think that a just god would have to allow unjust things to happen. Our reading has shown us that without unjust there is no just. Without evil there is no good. I think that god allows bad things to happen so that people have the chance to be good. Bad things happen to everyone but what god looks for is how you come out of a bad situation. When you make something bad into something good that is what defines you as a good person and that is ultimately what god aims for.
ReplyDeleteI think that evil was created in order to allow freedom of choice. If we are only given good as an option, what is the point in living? Evil is also the counter part of good and good cannot exist without evil (ying yang).
ReplyDeleteI believe that a all good god would allow evil to exist for many reasons. The main reason being that it exists so show an example of you should not live like. If everyone in this world was good, no body would know what evil is like. I also think that the existence of evil gives good people to stand out in this world.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that there really could be a good without an evil. I believe that God sees this clearly, and wants people to live by good so that they could live forever happiness. If there was not evil, I don't think people would be worthy to go to heaven. I've always wondered why God even allows evil, but it shows how people are not perfect and with the evil of hell it strives us to work hard to perfection.
ReplyDeleteI believe in the idea of duality when it comes to good and evil. Without light there can not be dark. Without right there can not be wrong. And without good there can not be evil. They exist mutually. However, God does not make the decision of what an individual chooses. In the two paths, the person is allowed to decide which idea they practice. God allows evil to exist because with good, there is evil, but it is not in his power to decide what an individual chooses.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all my fellow classmates. Indeed we are people of intuition. The endlessness of duality is puzzling, as is the very nature of being alive, but dualism really strikes chords in us. Our lives are as puzzling as ever and we ask questions, pray to dieties, look for metaphors, and in the end it comes down to individual experience and meaning found. I believe in free will paralleling fate, "the synchronistic nature of the universe" as Deepak Chopra calls it. Everything seems to be blatently obvious at face value (light and dark, good and evil) and yet everything is imbued with paradoxes and contradictions which play upon us in strange ways. God created and we co-create. Who knows why? I certainly do not.
ReplyDelete